First Build...some advice please

[Birdman]

Hello...although I have jerked hard drives out of cases, replaced heat sinks on mb's, installed optical drives, etc. I've never actually BUILT a computer.

My main concern (at least for the moment) is making sure that all the components I have selected for my new pc are compatible and appropriate.

Speaking of appropriate, I don't know if this is, but the following are what I plan to use on my build. I realize that there are many, many personal preferences for different hardware. What I'm looking for is confirmation that I'm not purchasing incompatible "stuff".

Assistance would be greatly appreciated. Here goes......

PROCESSOR:
Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9400
MOTHERBOARD:
ASUS P5QL-E LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
MEMORY:
4 Meg - Corsair - 1066
VIDEO CARD:
ASUS EN8600GT SILENT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported
HARD DRIVE #1:
Western Digital Caviar RE WD2500YS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
HARD DRIVE #2:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
OPTICAL DRIVE #1
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
OPTICAL DRIVE #2
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM
CASE
APEVIA X-ALIEN MX-ALIEN-BK/500 Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 500W Dual Fan W/ Automatic Fan Speed Control. Power Supply
OS
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 English 1 Pack for System Builders w/multiple CD - OEM

I've tried to do my homework and I think I've got everything right, but any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Birdman

[RickyTick]

Hello Birdman and welcome to the forums.

A couple of things stand out here.

I don't know what you will be using your computer for, but if you're gaming then the 8600GT video card might be rather disappointing. There are several video cards that are much better, but not much more expensive.

Without a 64 bit OS, the 4gb of ram are somewhat wasted. Plus if your using XP, then 2gb is more than enough.

I'm not sure about you configuration of hard drives. Explain.

[grilly]

Welcome. Why would you want two of the same optical drives? Why not just go with one or throw in a Blue Ray?

Same thoughts as Ricky on the Video card. That's a pretty nice setup and I would go ahead and spend a little extra to get a card that is up to par with the rest of your system. Even if your not a major gamer.

[Birdman]

OK...thanks for the input...

I THINK I've upgraded my video card to the following (I'm not a gamer...primarily photoshop and video editing work)

ASUS EN9600GT TOP/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

As respects the hard drive setup, it was my thought to use a 250 gig primary drive for programs and the 1T drive for storage/scratch disk.

Regarding the 2 identical optical drives, I really don't know. For some reason, I've always seemed to have 2 opticals (?).

RAM....I'm using XP Pro 32bit. So will anything over 2 meg be a wasted expense?

[Barrister73]

OK...thanks for the input...



RAM....I'm using XP Pro 32bit. So will anything over 2 meg be a wasted expense?

I believe that it is anything over 3 gig will be wasted.

[grilly]

It's actually anything from 3 to 3.5 Gig is the maximum. I actually prefer 2 gig of PC8500 or PC9600 Ram to 3 GIG of a slower Ram. I actually had the same question about Ram that I posted on here and was instructed to go with higher quality Ram with Windows XP instead of going more Gigs.